Wire-reel.



Pa'tentad Dec. 26, I899 W. W. LEVETT.

WIRE REEL.

(Application filed July 8, 1899.)

(No Model.)

FFICE.

PATENT WALTER W. LEVETT, OF CALLAO, MISSOURI.

WIRE-REEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 639,818, dated December 26, 1899.

Application filed July 8, 1899. Serial No. 723,184. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, WALTER W. LEVETT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Callao, in the countyof Macon and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Wire- Reel, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in wire-reels.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of wire-reels and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and eflicient device adapted to receive an ordinary wirespool and capable of enabling Wire to be readily reeled on the same and unreeled therefrom in taking down and putting up fences.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which will enable the unreeling of the wire to be readily controlled, so that the wire will not be paid out too fast.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a wire-reel constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view. Fig. 3 is a detail View of the brake mechanism. Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views of the members of the brake.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1 designates a substantially rectangular supporting-frame composed of side bars 2 and 3, a front transverse bar 4, and an axle 5, which is located at the back of the frame, as clearly illustrated in Fig. l of the accompanying drawings, and the side 2 is extended in advance of the front transverse bar 4 and is shaped into a handle 6, which is adapted to be readily grasped by the operator to draw or push the device over the ground to take up or unreel fence-wire. The frame is provided at opposite sides with standards or supports 7 and 8, provided at their upper ends with bearings and receiving a transverse shaft 9, upon which a spool 10 for the reception of the fence-wire is mounted. The shaft is provided at one end with a crank-handle 11, located adjacent to the side bar 2, and the handle 6 and the crank-handle are located adjacent to each other, so that they may be readily grasped by the operator, who may push the machine over the ground and simultaneously rotate the shaft to wind up fence-wire.

The axle extends beyond the sides of the frame and has carrying-wheels 12 mounted on its spindles, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The end of the shaft to which the crank-handle is secured is enlarged, and the restof the shaft is rounded to enable it to be readily Withdrawn from the spool and the bearings sufficiently to permit a spool to be placed on and removed from it. The spool is held rigid with the shaft by means ofa substantially L-shaped arm -13, mounted on the shaft and engaging one of the end bars of the spool, and in winding wire on a spool the arm 13 is engaged with one of the edges of one of the end bars, and in unwinding the wire it is engaged with the opposite edge. The arm may be readily disengaged from the spool when it is desired to remove the same. The standard or support 7 is provided at its upper end with a removable pin or key 14, extending across the bearing opening or recess and adapted to retain the shaft therein.

The frame is provided at opposite sides with vertical guide rolls 15, mounted on suitable spindles and adapted to prevent the wire from coming in contact with the wheels of the de= vlce.

The rotation of the shaft when unreeling wire is controlled by means of the brake or tension device 16, composed of a substantially L-shaped member or rod 17 and a resilient upwardly-extending rod or member 18. The L-shaped rod or member, which is also resilient, extends upward and over the shaft, and both rods or members 17 and 18 are provided at their lower ends with substantially horizontal arms 19 and 20, which are secured to the standard or support 8, in perforations thereof, by means of nuts engaging threaded ends of the shanks. The horizontal arm of the resilient L-shaped member is provided with a hook 21 and is engaged by a nut 22, mounted on the rod 18 and adapted to force the rod or member against the shaft, whereby the rotation of the same will be retarded.

When it is desired to release the shaft, the rod 18 may be readily sprung out of engagement with the hook 21, and the rod or member 17 will spring upward away from the shaft. The rod 18 may be readily rengaged with the hook when desired.

It will be seen that the wire-reel is exceedingly simple and inexpensive in its construction, that it is adapted to receive an ordinary wire-spool, and that it is capable of enabling wire to be readily wound thereon and unreeled therefrom. It will also be apparent that the rotation of the shaft in unreeling wire may be readily controlled by the brake or tension device and that the straight rod or member 18 may be readily disengaged from the hook of the substantially L-shaped rod or member to cause the latter to spring upward out of engagement with the shaft.

Changes in the form, proportion, size, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

What is claimed is- 1. A device of the class described comprising a frame, a shaft adapted to receive the spool, and a brake or tension device composed of a substantially vertical rod located at one side of the shaft, secured at its lower end to the frame and having its upper portion threaded, a substantially L-shaped rod or member mounted on the frame and extending across the shaft and provided with a hook detachably receiving the vertical rod, and a nut mounted on the threaded portion of the Vertical rod and engaging the hook, substantially as described.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with a supporting'frame and a shaft, of a rod 18 located at one side of the shaft and provided at its lower end with a shank mounted on the supporting-frame, a substantially L-shaped rod located at the opposite side of the shaft and provided at its lower end with a shank secured to the supporting-frame, said L-shaped rod being provided at its upper end with a hook engaging the rod 18, and a nut mounted on the latter, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WALTER W. LEVETT.

lVitnesses:

T. B. WRIGHT, W. R. W HITE. 

